Shanelle Sorensen

NaNoWriMo: On Writing Through

As it stands right now, I am 8000 words behind where I “should be” to be on target for NaNoWriMo. That’s going to take a definite, concerted effort to tackle over the course of the next two weeks.

Why? Due to certain recent events, I felt so wrapped up in everything that I felt unable to sit down and write. That meant when I was already a couple thousand words behind, there was a full three or four days where I didn’t really do any writing. And that’s rough on the word count.

I’ve thought a lot about this over the last couple of days, as I started writing again, and I’ve learned something. Or perhaps I should more accurately say “re-learned” or “was reminded of,” as it was something I already knew. It’s something all of us intuitively know.

You have to do things even when you don’t feel like it.

Sounds kind of pathetic, right?

If you want to be a writer, you have to write even when you don’t feel like it. If you want to be a good student, you have to study even when you don’t feel like it. If you want to be a good employee, you have to work hard even when you don’t feel like it.

You have to learn to work through it. Of course you need to practice self-care. But I had to tell myself on the fourth straight day I hadn’t written that even though I didn’t feel like it, it was time to start writing again. And guess what? When I did, I started feeling so much better. (It’s always the starting something that is the most difficult, isn’t it? I mean, once you’ve managed to get yourself to the gym, it’s not hard to exercise.) And even though it’s an obvious principle that everyone knows, it’s always good to be reminded of it every once in a while.